1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of connection of hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electric circuits by means of several matching connector elements mounted, on the one hand, on a plate called the mobile plate and, on the other hand, on a plate called the fixed plate. The present invention first of all relates to a connection assembly for such a movable plate to at least one such fixed plate. Moreover, the present invention relates to a method for connecting such a movable plate to at least one fixed plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to connect together hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electric circuits, it is necessary to simultaneously and collinearly couple hydraulic, pneumatic and/or electric connector elements which are matching and which are mounted on two facing plates, namely a movable plate and an essentially fixed plate. Usually, the relative positioning of these two plates, before they are brought together, may have a centring defect, that is to say an offset in the plane of one of the plates, and a parallelism defect, that is to say an angular difference between the planes of these plates.
A connection assembly of the prior art usually which comprises a linear cylinder in order to move the movable plate towards the fixed plate in a direction of connection which is most frequently horizontal. To allow a fluttering of the movable plate approaching the fixed plate, and compensate for such positioning defects, the connection assembly also comprises a fluttering device. Such a fluttering device may, for example, comprise linear springs mounted between the movable plate and the cylinder rod.
In JP-A-61014008, the fluttering device 28 is inserted between the end of the cylinder rod 15, 18, 17 and a fluttering part 26 to which is connected the movable plate A by means of connector elements 4b/35.
The movable plate is like suspended by the fluttering device in an overhang or cantilever position at the end of the cylinder rod. In other words, this movable plate flutters or wobbles relative to the fixed support of the cylinder.
The movable plate and the fixed plate are equipped with at least one centring component and at least one centring member which have matching shapes. When the movable plate is moved towards the fixed plate, the centring component and the centring member interact or cooperate so as to position the movable plate relative to the fixed plate, which makes it possible to couple the matching connector elements collinearly. The centring component and the centring member guide the movable plate up to the fixed plate when they are connected. Usually, the centring component and the centring member consist respectively of a socket and a post.
However, after a connection of the plates, the position of the movable plate is adapted to the relative positioning defects of the plates. Consequently, after the cylinder has disconnected and moved the movable plate away from the fixed plate, the movable plate is retracted into a position which may be offset relative to an earlier retracted position corresponding to the mid-position of the amplitude of the fluttering. This offset, induced by each connection to a fixed plate and which the fluttering device does not manage to compensate for during the disconnection, makes a subsequent connection more difficult. The tolerance of the movable plate to the relative positioning defects of the plates is therefore reduced.
Furthermore, as the movable plate is suspended cantilever or overhanging by the fluttering device, the weight of the movable plate and of its components can change the position of the movable plate before a connection and therefore move it away from its theoretical middle or mid-position. Such a change in the position of the movable plate also reduces its tolerance to the relative positioning defects of the plates.
This is why a connection assembly of the prior art requires considerable clearances and relatively large guide surfaces between centring component(s) and centring member(s), in particular in the two dimensions of the plane of the movable plate and of the fixed plate. Such guide surfaces increase the bulk and weight of the centring components and members.